1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to pouring spouts for containers. More specifically, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for a pouring spout having a removably capped, cylindrical inner housing in combination with a pair of stainless steel opposing punch blades for insertion into a closed container, the spout serving as an exit conduit for the container contents, where an outer safety sleeve is provided to cover the punch blades when the spout is not in use.
2. Background Art
Opening containers which contain liquid or granular material while simultaneously avoiding spillage has always posed a challenge to the tradesman in the work environment. Containers, typically of the gallon and quart variety, which contain fluids, paints, water seals, granular materials and the like usually include a top lid. Often, the container lid will include a lip or edge which is designed to facilitate the opening of the contain with a common tool such as, for example, a screw driver. A typical example of this situation is the standard gallon of paint which includes a lid having a lip formed in the top thereof. It is common practice to insert the edge of a screwdriver into the lip formed in the top of the paint can lid. By applying a downward force to the handle of the screwdriver, an upward force is mechanically transferred to the lid of the paint can. Upon application of a sufficient force, the lid can be removed from the paint can.
Once the lid is removed from the paint can, spillage of the contents is very common. For example, the bottom of the paint can lid is covered with paint or other fluid contained therein. Thus, it is important to have prepared a location to temporary store the paint can lid while the painting task is being completed. Once the paint can has been opened, a measured amount of paint or other fluid is removed from the paint can since it is not common to draw paint onto a brush directly from the gallon paint can. If interior painting is being performed, it is more common to paint flat surfaces with a roller apparatus. Thus, a certain volume of the paint must be dispensed from the gallon paint can into a second container such as a roller pan. This is the case since the gallon paint container cannot accommodate the larger roller apparatus utilized to transfer the paint to the flat surface. It is during the transfer of the volume of paint from the gallon container to the roller pan that spillage most often occurs. Even if the proper procedures are followed, i.e., the use of plastic drop clothes and other protective means, spillage of the paint while pouring from the paint container into the roller pan is very common. This situation often results in an unsatisfactory mess and wasted time since the spillage obviously must be contained immediately.
Attempts in the past to rectify this spillage problem resulted in the development of several prior art pouring mechanisms. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,599,836 to Hegi on Aug. 17, 1971 entitled Pourer Tube For Fluid Containers discloses a cylindrical plastic tube 1, with an open top, removable lid 5 positioned on the tube 1, a piercing stem 3 with a piercing point 4, an abutment flange 2 and a sealing ring 7. Oblique surfaces 12 were also provided for stabilizing the pourer tube for fluid containers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,662 to Tallman on Nov. 21, 1989 discloses a plastic tubular body 11 having an open top, a reclosure cap 17 attached to a tether 55, a tubular steel penetrating member 12, a rubber gasket 13 and a plastic washer 14 for sealing, and a rotating and locking ring 16 with a threaded portion 60, 62 for stabilizing the dispensing spout. U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,768 to Maynard, Jr. on Apr. 24, 1979 discloses a plastic pouring spout 30 having a closure plug 43 and including a metal tubular container top piercing blade 31, spaced lugs 37 as a bearing surface, and where the piercing blade 31 serves to displace a flap 34 of punched metal in the container top, and a compressible gasket 38 for sealing against leakage.
Many references disclose a tubular or cylindrical housing with a removable cap and a singular steel punching blade. For example, a cylindrical plastic housing is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,708 to Magness (tube member 16), U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,989 to Brannen (metallic cutter dispenser tubing 11), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,757 to Jurgens (pouring spout shown in FIGS. 1, 2). Additionally, a raised ring stop is disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 6,003,715 to Harris (stop surface 34) and singular punching blades are also disclosed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,446,989 to Brannen (metallic cutter dispenser blade 16), U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,757 to Jurgens (metallic cutter 18), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,640 to Laughlin (cutter portion 12). However, no patent or combination of patents discovered teaches or discloses either individually or in combination the use of a pair of opposing stainless steel punch blades, projection spurs, locking notches, and a sliding plastic safety sleeve in combination with the pouring spout construction.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a pouring spout comprising a cylindrical inner housing having an open top in combination with a pair of opposing stainless steel punch blades for insertion into a top lid of a closed container for providing a conduit for the discharge of the contents therein, where the pair of punch blades each include a projection spur to force open that portion of the top lid sliced open by the insertion of the punch blades, a pair of locking notches for enabling the punch blades to bite into the top lid, and an outer safety sleeve for covering the pair of punch blades when the pouring spout is not in use.